The Pittsburgh Steelers have arguably taken fliers on quarterbacks in each of the past two NFL drafts. So, it’s only natural for pundits to see the Steelers as a candidate to take a flier through a trade to potential land J.J. McCarthy.
The Minnesota Vikings announced Tuesday that Kyler Murray will start behind center for the team to begin the 2026 regular season. Since then, analysts have begun speculating where McCarthy could move to if he switches teams this fall or next offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox named the Steelers one of the top five landing spots for McCarthy.
“Pittsburgh lacks clarity about its quarterback position beyond this season. It has a pair of young developmental signal-callers in 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and rookie third-rounder Drew Allar. However, it doesn’t have a clear-cut heir to Rodgers,” wrote Knox.
“Adding McCarthy to the mix would make sense for the Steelers, who are incredibly unlikely to wind up with a top draft slot in 2027.”
The Vikings selected McCarthy at No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The national champion quarterback from Michigan missed his rookie season because of a knee injury.
Last season, he led the Vikings to a 6-4 record with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Steelers Named Landing Spot for J.J. McCarthy
GettyJ.J. McCarthy will not be the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback to begin the 2026 NFL campaign.
Knox didn’t offer many details besides labeling the Steelers a potential suitor for McCarthy. Pittsburgh, though, already has a loaded quarterback room with Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar.
But the BR analyst still suggested the Steelers add McCarthy immediately.
“Pittsburgh would also give McCarthy a wonderful opportunity to compete with Howard and Allar next offseason,” wrote Knox. “In the meantime, the former Wolverines star would get to learn under one of the modern era’s best quarterbacks and a proven offensive head coach in Mike McCarthy.”
Four quarterbacks on the active roster is difficult for teams to do. Five is impossible.
To add McCarthy, the Steelers would have to cut Rudolph (or make him part of the trade package to land McCarthy). Then for him to compete with Howard and Allar, the Steelers would have to keep both of those signal-callers along with McCarthy behind Rodgers in 2026.
In that scenario, McCarthy would likely be the team’s QB2.
The Steelers could acquire McCarthy next spring. That probably makes more sense because Rodgers and Rudolph are both pending free agents.
But then McCarthy wouldn’t learn under Rodgers for a season.
Could Steelers Trade for Vikings QB in 2026?
GettyBleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox named the Pittsburgh Steelers a potential landing spot for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
It makes sense for Knox to include the Steelers on a list of potential McCarthy landing spots. But the timing of how he could land in Pittsburgh is tricky.
If the Steelers acquired him this month, then they probably will have to cut two other signal-callers. Presumably, those two quarterbacks would be Rudolph and Howard.
In the event that occurred, the Steelers could land McCarthy, have him compete for the starting job next spring and learn under Rodgers. But more than likely, only Allar would still be around to push McCarthy for the starting job.
The Steelers would also have to accept losing Rudolph’s experience in the QB2 job for 2026.
Pittsburgh’s new head coach has raved about Rudolph this offseason. It’s not clear cut that the Steelers coaching staff will consider McCarthy an upgrade over Rudolph for the QB2 role this fall.
It’s also not for sure that the Steelers would prefer having McCarthy compete for their starting quarterback job in the future instead of Howard and Allar.
The Vikings quarterback has the higher pedigree. At Michigan, he won a lot of games. In 2023, he led the Wolverines to a 15-0 record and the national championship while averaging nine yards per pass with 22 touchdowns.
But his NFL story has been a lot different. In his second season, McCarthy averaged just 6.7 yards per pass and completed only 57.6% of his throws.
Trading for him is certainly something the Steelers would be wise to consider. How they could pull it off with their full quarterback room already, though, is difficult to foresee.
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